Olympic Stadium (Athens)

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Athletic Center of Athens O.A.K.A (Spyros Louis)
Full name	Olympic Athletic Center of Athens O.A.K.A(Spiros Loyis)
Location	Maroussi, Athens, Greece
Coordinates	38°02′10″N 23°47′15″E / 38.03611°N 23.78750°E / 38.03611; 23.78750Coordinates: 38°02′10″N 23°47′15″E / 38.03611°N 23.78750°E / 38.03611; 23.78750
Owner	Greek Government
Operator	OAKA S.A.
Capacity	69,618
Record attendance	82,662 (concert)
Field size	105 x 68 m[1]
Surface	Grass
Construction
Built	1979[1]
Opened	1982[1]
Renovated	2002–2004 (Olympic Games)[1]
Construction cost	€265 million (Renovation 2004)
Architect	Santiago Calatrava (Renovation)
Tenants
AEK FC (1985–1987, 2003–)

The Olympic Stadium of Athens "Spyros Louis" (Greek: Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", Olympiakó Stádio "Spyros Louis") is part of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex. It is named after the first modern Olympic marathon race winner in 1896, Spyros Louis. The stadium hosts one of the biggest sport clubs in Greece, AEK Athens.

History

Located in the area of Marousi in Athens, the stadium was originally designed in 1979 and built in 1980–1982. It was completed in time to host the 1982 European Championships in Athletics. It was inaugurated by the President of Greece, at the time Konstantinos Karamanlis, on 8 September 1982. It also hosted several events of the 1991 Mediterranean Games and the 1997 World Championships in Athletics, sought in order to prove that it was capable of hosting major sporting events after the failure of Athens to win the 1996 Summer Olympics.

It was extensively renovated in time for the 2004 Summer Olympics, including a roof designed by Santiago Calatrava, and innovatively positioned with Enerpac hydraulics.^[2] The roof was added atop the sidelines and completed just in time for the opening of the Games. The stadium was then officially re-opened on 30 July 2004. It hosted the athletics events and the football final at the 2004 Summer Olympics.^[3] It also hosted the opening ceremony on 13 August 2004, and the closing ceremony on 29 August 2004. The stadium's attendance was reduced to 71,030 for the Olympics, the initial capacity was some 75,000, though only 56,700 seats were made publicly available for the track and field events and slightly more for the football final. The turf system consists of natural grass in modular containers which incorporate irrigation and drainage systems.

In 2011, 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games held in this Stadium

• It hosted the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final on 23 May between AC Milan and Liverpool, which was won 2–1 by Milan, the 1994 Final also won by Milan, the 1983 Final, as well as the 1987 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final.

• The stadium played host to Amnesty International's Human Rights Now! Benefit Concert on 3 October 1988. The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Tracy Chapman, Youssou N'Dour, and George Dalaras.

• Madonna performed before a sold-out crowd of 75,637 at the stadium on 27 September 2008, as part of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.

• U2 performed in front of a crowd of 82,662 during their 360° Tour on 3 September 2010, making it the highest attended concert ever held in Greece.

• Pyx Lax performed also in front of a crowd of about 80,000, during their reunion tour on 13 July 2011. It was the highest attended Greek-band-concert.

• Bon Jovi performed during their Bon Jovi Live Tour on 20 July 2011. The show was successful and almost sold out.

• Red Hot Chili Peppers performed in front of a crowd of about 60,000, as part of their worldwide concert tour on 4 September 2012.

• Lady Gaga performed a sold-out show for her world tour, ArtRave: The Artpop Ball, in front of 26,860 people.

Concerts

Gallery

See also

• Athens Olympic Sports Complex
• List of music venues

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Athens Olympic Stadium.

• Official site
• Olympic Stadium (Athens)
• Athens Olympic Stadium "Spyros Louis" – Many photos and detailed history Stadia Greece

Olympic venues in athletics 1896: Marathon (city), Panathenaic Stadium 1900: Croix-Catelan Stadium 1904: Francis Field 1908: White City Stadium 1912: Stockholm Olympic Stadium 1920: Olympisch Stadion 1924: Stade de Colombes 1928: Olympic Stadium 1932: Olympic Stadium, Riverside Drive at Griffith Park 1936: Avus Motor Road, Olympic Stadium 1948: Empire Stadium 1952: Olympic Stadium 1956: Melbourne Cricket Ground 1960: Arch of Constantine, Raccordo Anulare, Stadio Olimpico, Via Appia Antica, Via Cristoforo Colombo 1964: Fuchu City, Karasuyama-machi, National Stadium, Sasazuka-machi, Shinjuku 1968: Estadio Olímpico Universitario, Zócalo 1972: Olympiastadion 1976: Montreal Botanical Garden, Olympic Stadium, Streets of Montreal 1980: Grand Arena, Streets of Moscow 1984: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Santa Monica College, Streets of Los Angeles, Streets of Santa Monica 1988: Olympic Stadium, Streets of Seoul 1992: Estadi Olímpic de Monjuïc, Marathon course, Mataró, Walking course 1996: Marathon course, Olympic Stadium, Walking course 2000: Marathon course, North Sydney, Olympic Stadium 2004: Marathon (city), Olympic Stadium, Panathenaic Stadium, Stadium at Olympia 2008: Beijing National Stadium, Olympic Green Promenade Walking course, Streets of Beijing Marathon course 2012: Marathon Course, Olympic Stadium 2016: Flamengo Park, Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Sambódromo

Olympic venues in association football 1900 Vélodrome de Vincennes 1904 Francis Field 1908 White City Stadium 1912 Råsunda IP, Stockholm Olympic Stadium (final), Tranebergs Idrottsplats 1920 Jules Ottenstadion, Olympisch Stadion (final), Stade Joseph Marien, Stadion Broodstraat 1924 Stade Bergeyre, Stade de Colombes (final), Stade de Paris, Stade Pershing 1928 Monnikenhuize, Olympic Stadium (final), Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel 1936 Hertha-BSC Field, Mommsenstadion, Olympiastadion (final), Poststadion 1948 Arsenal Stadium, Champion Hill, Craven Cottage, Cricklefield Stadium, Empire Stadium (medal matches), Green Pond Road, Griffin Park, Selhurst Park, White Hart Lane 1952 Helsinki Football Grounds, Kotka, Lahti, Olympic Stadium (final), Tampere, Turku 1956 Melbourne Cricket Ground (final), Olympic Park Stadium 1960 Florence Communal Stadium, Grosseto Communal Stadium, L'Aquila Communal Stadium, Livorno Ardenza Stadium, Naples Saint Paul's Stadium, Pescara Adriatic Stadium, Stadio Flaminio (final) 1964 Komazawa Olympic Park Stadium, Mitsuzawa Football Field, Nagai Stadium, Tokyo National Stadium (final), Nishikyogoku Athletic Stadium, Ōmiya Football Field, Prince Chichibu Memorial Football Field 1968 Estadio Azteca (final), Estadio Cuauhtémoc, Estadio Nou Camp, Jalisco Stadium 1972 Drei Flüsse Stadion, ESV-Stadion, Jahnstadion, Olympiastadion (final), Rosenaustadion, Urban Stadium 1976 Lansdowne Park, Olympic Stadium (final), Sherbrooke Stadium, Varsity Stadium 1980 Dinamo Stadium, Dynamo Central Stadium, Grand Arena, Grand Arena (final), Kirov Stadium, Republican Stadium 1984 Harvard Stadium, Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Rose Bowl (final), Stanford Stadium 1988 Busan Stadium, Daegu Stadium, Daejeon Stadium, Dongdaemun Stadium, Olympic Stadium (final) 1992 Estadi de la Nova Creu Alta, Camp Nou (final), Estadio Luís Casanova, La Romareda, Estadi de Sarrià 1996 Florida Citrus Bowl, Legion Field, Orange Bowl, RFK Memorial Stadium, Sanford Stadium (both finals) 2000 Stadium Australia, Brisbane Cricket Ground, Bruce Stadium, Hindmarsh Stadium, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Olympic Stadium (men's final), Sydney Football Stadium (women's final) 2004 Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Karaiskakis Stadium (women's final), Olympic Stadium (men's final), Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Pankritio Stadium, Panthessaliko Stadium 2008 Beijing National Stadium (men's final), Qinhuangdao Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Shanghai Stadium, Shenyang Olympic Sports Center Stadium, Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium, Workers' Stadium (women's final) 2012 City of Coventry Stadium, Hampden Park, Millennium Stadium, St James' Park, Old Trafford, Wembley Stadium (both finals) 2016 Estádio Nacional de Brasília, Arena Fonte Nova, Mineirão, Arena Corinthians, Arena da Amazônia, Estádio Olímpico João Havelange, Maracanã (both finals)